The next generation of biolatex庐 binders for applications in paper coating, paperboard and personal care products
WATERLOO, Ont., (Monday, March 18, 2013) 鈥� The 蓝莓视频 Institute for Nanotechnology (WIN) at the University of 蓝莓视频 and a biomaterials company started by two 蓝莓视频 chemistry graduates are teaming together to make the next generation of biolatex庐 binders for applications in paper coating, paperboard and personal care products.
The secret of EcoSynthetix鈥檚 breakthrough is to replace traditional latex with a nano-engineered version that is derived from bio-based sources, such as the starch in corn or tapioca.听 The applications are diverse.听 For example, latex made from fossil fuels is currently used as the main binding agent in coating paper for everything from magazines to cereal boxes.听 With biolatex庐-containing coatings, the same paper can be made with equal or superior performance, at a lower cost and with a smaller carbon footprint.
EcoSynthetix Corp. and WIN will share expertise in developing and characterizing nanopolymers and other new bio-based materials. The result is anticipated to lead to a new generation of bio-based latex coatings that are suitable for a wide variety of industrial applications.
鈥淏y sharing our research skills and insights, WIN researchers will help develop green bio-based materials that have a real impact on society," said Professor Arthur J. Carty, executive director of the 蓝莓视频 Institute for Nanotechnology. 鈥淭his project represents a great opportunity for our institute, faculty and students at the university to collaborate with a local innovator to further our understanding of technology that leverages a green chemistry to produce innovative substitutes for petroleum-based chemicals.鈥�
鈥淭his collaboration with the 蓝莓视频 Institute for Nanotechnology is a great example of how industry and universities can work together to advance an exciting new area of science to benefit the community,鈥� said John van Leeuwen, CEO of EcoSynthetix. 鈥淏y working with WIN to deepen our understanding of the basic science, we can identify new future applications that could benefit from a sustainable bio-based material.鈥�
The partnership is a five-year agreement funded through an NSERC-EcoSynthetix Collaborative Research and Development Grant.
The 蓝莓视频 Institute for Nanotechnology is an interdisciplinary research institute at the University of 蓝莓视频, Ontario, Canada focused on science and engineering at the atomic scale, which entails the design, fabrication, and exploitation of materials and structures where dimensions are measured in billionths of a meter (10-9m). 听The extraordinary range of possibilities offered by nanotechnology is based on the fact that the properties of materials change 鈥� sometimes radically 鈥� when their size approaches that of a few tens or hundreds of atoms. By taking advantage of the unique phenomena which predominate at the atomic-scale, the institutes scientists and engineers are discovering and developing nano-materials, nano-electronics, nano-instrumentation and nano-biosystems that will fundamentally change the world.
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